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The Science of
Addiction
Drugs, Brains, and Behavior
Two NIH institutes — the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) — have joined with HBO
to reveal startling new advances in the fight against alcohol and other drug addiction.
The personal and family tragedies related to addiction are heartrending and, quite
often, desperate. The struggles to break addiction and restore lives are uniquely
challenging. And the scientific breakthroughs now taking place to help understand,
prevent, and successfully treat addiction are nothing short of astonishing.
Two NIH institutes that are already on the forefront of research into drug and alcohol
addiction recently joined with cable TV network HBO to present an unprecedented multiplatform
film, TV, and print campaign aimed at helping Americans understand addiction
as a chronic but treatable brain disease. The eye-opening documentary, Addiction, first
aired on HBO in March and is one part of the campaign. Developed with funding from the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Addiction and related video and print materials seek to
help Americans understand addiction as a chronic yet treatable brain disease and spotlight
promising scientific advancements.
Many Americans today do not yet understand why people become addicted to drugs or
how remarkable scientific advances are literally redefining the arena of addiction, notes Nora
D. Volkow, M.D., Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
“Groundbreaking discoveries about the brain have revolutionized our understanding of addiction,
enabling us to respond effectively to the problem,” she says. “We now know that addiction is
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